Pool chemical help needed

[The kid]

So today I put in a 12'X30" inflatable pool. Now I'm scrambling to figure out what chemicals to get, how much to put in, and in what order.

From the passed three hours of reading the web, I've got about 2,000 gal of water in there. I have to go to the store and get test strips, algiside, chlorine, ph booster, ph reducer, and stabilizer.

First add chlorine according to this; PoolMath aiming for 3ppm. Add stabilizer at this time also.

Second, 24hrs after adding the chlorine, test and adjust ph aiming for 7.2-7.6

Third, adjust total alkalinity to 120-150ppm Hmm, not sure how to do that... or where the algiside comes in.


What do you think? Here we are tuesday night, and I've got my 4 year old daughter's birthday party saturday. I don't wanna mess this up!

Get you a box of shock packets at wallyworld. Read the direction and use sparingly on such a small pool. The shock is in powder granular form. Fill a bucket and dump about a 1/4 to a 1/3 in the bucket and fill it. Stir it till it's completely disolved. Then walk around the pool while pouring it in. Jump in and walk around a few minute to get it mixed with the pool water. Unless your water is real acidic I wouldn't worry too much able it. You do however want to make sure it's sanitized which is what the shock does.

 

[techman]

Pool chemistry is quite simple and cheap. Forget all of the pool supply stuff. I've used the following for 30+ years and never a green pool. You need three things:
baking soda (large bag from Sams, etc), Muriatic acid (hardware supply) and chlorine. I used bleach for years. Yes it is the same exact chemical used in pools - sodium hypochlorite. I used bleach for years but switched to liquid chlorine a few years ago because it became cheaper than bleach. But if you can find bleach on sale it could be cheaper.

First step is go out and but a descent test kit on Amazon or a pool store. It will run you $ 40-50 but well worth it. Forget test strips, not reliable enough.

First after filling you need to get the PH set. 7.5-7.8 is optimal. Baking soda raises it, while muriatic acid will lower it. The test kit should have "demand" tests to tell you how much of either to use (be careful with the muriatic). Next you want your "total alkalinity" from 80-120 ppm. To increase it add baking soda. This will raise the PH, so adjust it down with muriatic. Total alkalinity is basically a buffer in the pool water and will help the PH stay stable as you use chlorine. BTW as mentioned by an earlier post, burning eyes is not from chlorine, but incorrect PH. If the PH is too low or to high, the effectiveness of the chlorine is dimished.

Once you have the PH and total alkalinity at good levels, you can chlorinate and use the pool. Bleach is generally 5.25% and pool liquid is about 11%. I always cut the pool chlorine 50-50 with water to make it the same strength as bleach. For out 18' pool, with 8000 gallons, we added about a quart a day. Heavy swimming we would add about a pint additional after heavy use. You will find that the chlorine will diminish from UV in the sunlight. Normally this is not a problem as long as you add chlorine daily. You can add stabilizer (cyanuric acid), which greatly reduces the loss due to UV, but you need to dissolve it (takes about 12 hours) and the test kit should have a CY test to check levels. Stabilizer remains in the pool and is not "used up". However be careful as too high a level is considered a health concern.

Last issue is shocking. I use liquid again to shock. generally 4-5 times the normal dose will shock. You will want to initially shock the pool. If you see it getting green (algea - normal cause is not enough chlorine, but more often caused by PH being out of the desired range). If the chemistry is not correct, the chlorites of the chlorine become chlorates which are not easily released to disinfect. When this happens the pool will have a noticeable chlorine smell, which it normally should not have. You cure this by shocking the pool with high chlorine levels, as described, which is known as "breakpoint chlorination". At this chlorine level, the chlorates are released and things get back to normal. Without stabilizer, wait 6-12 hours after shocking before use.

This is a simple, practical way to handle a pool, especially a smaller inflatable one. My total chemical use per season is under $ 75/year for 8000 gallons. All of the pool supply chemicals are similar or exactly the same as described here, but a lot more expensive. A good test kit is cheaper than a single trip to the pool store and buying the "suggested" chemicals. Powder and tablet chlorine are convenient but can be hard to adjust, usually add calcium which can scale the pool and may contain stabilizer which will eventually need monitoring for stabilizer levels.

A very professional and helpful site is: Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Paul

 

[The kid]

PH was about 6.8 (7.2 is min), so I gave it 1 tablespoon (15ml) of PH+, and 1cup (8oz) of stabilizer... even though it called for 12oz. I really screwed up and just poured them into the discharge stream of the pump thinking this would dissolve/ disperse it... nope, just sank to the bottom. So I guess we're not going into the pool until that's all dissolved. It's supposed to rain for the next three days (including her birthday party)...so no biggie. I've been running the pump full time since yesterday and will continue until I can't see anymore grains on the bottom. I've got some fun ideas for DIY pool heaters... solar with black garden hose, copper in the BBQ, or over the fire bowl... possibly with charcoal. Off to Google I go! LOL

Unless you placed your pool under a patio cover. A pool that shallow, you will have more problem keeping it cool than keeping it warm. Heating would be nice in April or late middle September. My pool (above ground) 24'X54" is already 86* which is warm for me. A solar cover such a silver colored tarp with a big beach ball in the middle might help keep it cooler in the daytime and also reduces chlorine evaporation. You don't need a round tarp. You can buy online these floating circles that are reversible for either heating or keeping it cool. They have magnets in the rings to lock them together as they float. I hope your party for your daughter is a big success. Happy 4th. -kid

Sent via Ipad2

 

[whynot162]

I have had my intex pool for about 5 years, I do not cover it in the winter, the rain just rips the cover apart.
I use supershock from wal mart, test strips from wal mart, and borax (PH up) test the ph, get it close, Use a bag of shock, (recomended ammount on the bag) Keep it at about a 8 on the chlorine scale for the first few days, then let it fall down and maintain at the appropriate level with the strips. After getting the spring alge out, I test every few days, and treat if needed. Keep the filter clean, you can wash them out with the hose. I finaly got a sand filter. But my kids love it. Outs is 15 round 48 deep.
I spent a lot of time tring to do all of the "simple" maintenance I read about. Then just went back to Shock and PH. The shock has kept all of the other readings in check. I live in the pacific northwest so it may be a little different where you are.
Add the shock in powder form also the ph granular, but walk around the pool sprinkeling it on the top so it is mixed well. Treat and test 30-60 minutes later.
Too many things to do to fret over all of the pool maintenance items, at least for me.

 

[KubotainNH]

I really screwed up and just poured them into the discharge stream of the pump thinking this would dissolve/ disperse it... nope, just sank to the bottom.

This is no big deal, swim at will. You can add stabilizer by putting it in an old nylon from the wife and hang it in front of the return. Give it a shake now and then and in a few days it will be gone. You really need to be careful that you don't use to much of it though.

 

[MossRoad]

5 years ago we bought a cheap salt water chlorine generator for our pool.
12,500 gallons.
6 bags of salt
5 pounds of stabilizer.
This was startup.
Every year since then, we open the pool in the spring.
Top off the water.
Add 4 gallons of bleach $12.00.
Two bags of salt - $10.00.
Two bottles of stabilizer - $15.00.
And that's it until we close it in the fall.
I lower the water level, dump in 6 gallons of bleach, put on the winter cover and that's it.

As someone mentioned, go to the pool school and look up the BBB method...
Bleach
Baking Soda
Borax
Its cheap and works great!

 

[techman]

...Two bottles of stabilizer - $15.00.

Just be careful. Cyanuric acid (stabilizer) does not get "used up", you only lose it when water is splashed out or drained. Adding more each year could get the levels above 100 ppm which can cause chlorine issues and is considered a potential health concern. Hopefully you check the CYA levels before adding more.

Paul

 

[kcflhrc]

We just bought a 22' Intex Ultra Frame Pool, 52" deep. We went with the salt water system this time around instead of the chlorine tabs and all that crap. We will see how it goes. My wife is in charge of pool maintenance until she finds a pool boy.

 

[techman]

I switched this year to a salt system as well. I truly enjoy the virtual no-maintenance of the system. Once you get the initial chemistry set, just use the pool. Salt levels, PH and CYA need to be adjusted, but basically once at startup, then no more work except an occasional eye on PH.

A warning to anyone using an Intex salt-chlorine generator, most units also have add copper to to the pool. This is done in a separate "cell" that consists of a couple of copper bars. Copper is a good algecide, but the Intex will keep adding copper. In noprmal conditions the copper ions do not dissipate, and the copper levels will continue to increase. Eventually you will start to get green stains on the liner and blond hair can also develop a green tinge. After researching, the consensus seems to be to get rid of the copper. You can unplug the copper electrodes, but still enough copper is dissolved by the salt-chlorine. I removed the electrodes but left the pins in, held by a couple of nuts. I then filled the area with RTV so the nuts and pins would not corrode. It has been working like a champ in this configuration, and no copper ions.

paul

 

[techman]

I switched this year to a salt system as well. I truly enjoy the virtual no-maintenance of the system. Once you get the initial chemistry set, just use the pool. Salt levels, PH and CYA need to be adjusted, but basically once at startup, then no more work except an occasional eye on PH.

A warning to anyone using an Intex salt-chlorine generator, most units also add copper to the pool. This is done in a separate "cell" that consists of a couple of copper bars. Copper is a good algecide, but the Intex will keep adding copper. In noprmal conditions the copper ions do not dissipate, and the copper levels will continue to increase. Eventually you will start to get green stains on the liner and blond hair can also develop a green tinge. After researching, the consensus seems to be to get rid of the copper. You can unplug the copper electrodes, but still enough copper is dissolved by the salt-chlorine. I removed the electrodes but left the pins in, held by a couple of nuts. I then filled the area with RTV so the nuts and pins would not corrode. It has been working like a champ in this configuration, and no copper ions.

paul